Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez, known as Diego Rivera (; December 8, 1886 – November 24, 1957), was a prominent Mexican painter. His large frescoes helped establish the mural movement in Mexican and international art. Between 1922 and 1953, Rivera painted

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

s in, among other places,

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, Chapingo, and

Cuernavaca Cuernavaca (; nci-IPA, Cuauhnāhuac, kʷawˈnaːwak "near the woods", ) is the capital and largest city of the state of Morelos in Mexico. The city is located around a 90-minute drive south of Mexico City using the Federal Highway 95D. The na ...

, Mexico; and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, and

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, United States. In 1931, a retrospective exhibition of his works was held at the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It plays a major role in developing and collecting modern art, and is often identified as one of ...

in New York; this was before he completed his 27-mural series known as ''

Detroit Industry Murals The ''Detroit Industry Murals'' (1932–1933) are a series of frescoes by the Mexican artist Diego Rivera, consisting of twenty-seven panels depicting industry at the Ford Motor Company and in Detroit. Together they surround the interior River ...

''. Rivera had four wives and numerous children, including at least one natural daughter. His first child and only son died at the age of two. His third wife was fellow Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, with whom he had a volatile relationship that continued until her death. His fourth and final wife was his agent. Due to his importance in the country's art history, the government of Mexico declared Rivera's works as '' monumentos historicos''. As of 2018, Rivera holds the record for highest price at auction for a work by a

Latin American art Latin American art is the combined artistic expression of South America, Central America, the Caribbean, and Mexico, as well as Latin Americans living in other regions. The art has roots in the many different indigenous cultures that inhabited the ...

ist. The 1931 painting ''The Rivals'', part of the record-setting Collection of Peggy Rockefeller and

David Rockefeller David Rockefeller (June 12, 1915 – March 20, 2017) was an American investment banker who served as chairman and chief executive of Chase Manhattan Corporation. He was the oldest living member of the third generation of the Rockefeller family, ...

, sold for US$9.76 million.

Personal life

Rivera was born on December 8, 1886, as one of twin boys in Guanajuato,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

, to María del Pilar Barrientos and Diego Rivera Acosta, a well-to-do couple. His twin brother Carlos died two years after they were born. His mother María del Pilar Barrientos was said to have '' converso'' ancestry ( Spanish ancestors who were forced to convert from

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

in the 15th and 16th centuries). Rivera wrote in 1935: "My Jewishness is the dominant element in my life", despite never being raised practicing any Jewish faith, Rivera felt his Jewish ancestry informed his art and gave him "sympathy with the downtrodden masses". Diego was of Spanish, Amerindian, African, Italian, Jewish, Russian, and Portuguese descent. Rivera began drawing at the age of three, a year after his twin brother died. When he was caught drawing on the walls of the house, his parents installed chalkboards and canvas on the walls to encourage him.

Marriages and families

After moving to Paris, Rivera met

Angelina Beloff Angelina Beloff (born Angelina Petrovna Belova; russian: Ангелина Петровна Белова; June 23, 1879 – December 30, 1969) was a Russian-born artist who did most of her work in Mexico. However, she is better known as Diego Rive ...

, an artist from the pre-Revolutionary Russian Empire. They married in 1911, and had a son, Diego (1916–1918), who died young. During this time, Rivera also had a relationship with painter Maria Vorobieff-Stebelska, who gave birth to a daughter named

Marika Rivera Marika Rivera (13 November 1919 – 14 January 2010) was a French-born film and stage actress and dancer. Biography Rivera was born in Paris, France, the daughter of the Mexican artist Diego Rivera and his mistress, the Russian-born painter Mar ...

in 1918 or 1919. Rivera divorced Beloff and married

Guadalupe Marín Guadalupe "Lupe" Marín (October 16, 1895 – September 16, 1983), born María Guadalupe Marín Preciado, was a Mexican model and novelist. Biography Marín was born in Ciudad Guzmán, Jalisco, Mexico. When aged eight, Marín moved with her ...

as his second wife in June 1922, after having returned to Mexico. They had two daughters together:

Ruth Ruth (or its variants) may refer to: Places France * Château de Ruthie, castle in the commune of Aussurucq in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques département of France Switzerland * Ruth, a hamlet in Cologny United States * Ruth, Alabama * Ruth, Ar ...

and Guadalupe. Diego-rivera-en-Paris

He was still married when he met art student Frida Kahlo in Mexico. They began a passionate affair and, after he divorced Marin, Rivera married Kahlo on August 21, 1929. He was 42 and she was 22. Their mutual infidelities and his violent temper resulted in divorce in 1939, but they remarried December 8, 1940, in

, California. A year after Kahlo's death, on July 29, 1955, Rivera married Emma Hurtado, his agent since 1946. In his later years Rivera lived in the United States and Mexico. Rivera died on November 24, 1957 at the age of nearly 71. He was buried at the

Panteón de Dolores The Panteón Civil de Dolores is the largest cemetery in Mexico and contains the "Rotonda de las Personas Ilustres" ( en, Rotunda of Illustrious Persons). It is located on Constituyentes Avenue in the Miguel Hidalgo borough of Mexico City, between ...

in Mexico.

Personal beliefs

Rivera was an atheist. His mural ''Dreams of a Sunday in the Alameda'' depicted Ignacio Ramírez holding a sign that read, "God does not exist". This work caused a furor, but Rivera refused to remove the inscription. The painting was not shown for nine years – until Rivera agreed to remove the inscription. He stated: "To affirm 'God does not exist', I do not have to hide behind Don Ignacio Ramírez; I am an atheist and I consider religions to be a form of collective neurosis."

Art education and circle

From the age of ten, Rivera studied art at the

Academy of San Carlos The Academy of San Carlos ( es, Academia de San Carlos) is located at 22 Academia Street in just northeast of the main plaza of Mexico City. It was the first major art academy and the first art museum in the Americas. It was founded in 1781 as th ...

. He was sponsored to continue study in Europe by Teodoro A. Dehesa Méndez, the governor of the State of

Veracruz Veracruz (), formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave), is one of the 31 states which, along with Me ...

. After arriving in Europe in 1907, Rivera first went to

Madrid, Spain Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

to study with

Eduardo Chicharro Eduardo is the Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese form of the male given name Edward. Another version is Duarte (name), Duarte. It may refer to: Association football * Eduardo Bonvallet, Chilean football player and spor ...

. From there he went to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, France, a destination for young European and American artists and writers, who settled in inexpensive flats in

Montparnasse Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. Montparnasse has bee ...

. His circle frequented La Ruche, where his Italian friend

Amedeo Modigliani Amedeo Clemente Modigliani (, ; 12 July 1884 – 24 January 1920) was an Italian painter and sculptor who worked mainly in France. He is known for portraits and nudes in a modern style characterized by a surreal elongation of faces, necks, and ...

painted his portrait in 1914. His circle of close friends included

Ilya Ehrenburg Ilya Grigoryevich Ehrenburg (russian: link=no, Илья́ Григо́рьевич Эренбу́рг, ; – August 31, 1967) was a Soviet writer, revolutionary, journalist and historian. Ehrenburg was among the most prolific and notable autho ...

Chaïm Soutine Chaïm Soutine (13 January 1893 – 9 August 1943) was a Belarusian painter who made a major contribution to the expressionist movement while living and working in Paris. Inspired by classic painting in the European tradition, exemplified by the ...

, Modigliani and his wife

Jeanne Hébuterne Jeanne Hébuterne (; 6 April 1898 – 26 January 1920) was a French painter and art model best known as the frequent subject and common-law wife of the artist Amedeo Modigliani. She took her own life the day after Modigliani died, and is now bu ...

Max Jacob Max Jacob (; 12 July 1876 – 5 March 1944) was a French poet, painter, writer, and critic. Life and career After spending his childhood in Quimper, Brittany, he enrolled in the Paris Colonial School, which he left in 1897 for an artistic ca ...

, gallery owner

Léopold Zborowski Léopold Zborowski (1889–1932) was a Polish poet, writer and art dealer. He was born in Zaleszczyki into a Jewish family. Zborowski and his wife Anna (Hanka Zborowska) were contemporaries with Parisian artists such as Chaïm Soutine, André De ...

, and

Moise Kisling Moise is a given name and surname, with differing spellings in its French and Romanian origins, both of which originate from the name Moses: Moïse is the French spelling of Moses, while Moise is the Romanian spelling. As a surname, Moisè and M ...

. Rivera's former lover Marie Vorobieff-Stebelska (Marevna) honored the circle in her painting ''Homage to Friends from Montparnasse'' (1962). In those years, some prominent young painters were experimenting with an art form that would later be known as

Cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

, a movement led by

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

and Georges Braque. From 1913 to 1917, Rivera enthusiastically embraced this new style. Around 1917, inspired by

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...

's paintings, Rivera shifted toward

Post-Impressionism Post-Impressionism (also spelled Postimpressionism) was a predominantly French art movement that developed roughly between 1886 and 1905, from the last Impressionist exhibition to the birth of Fauvism. Post-Impressionism emerged as a reaction a ...

, using simple forms and large patches of vivid colors. His paintings began to attract attention, and he was able to display them at several exhibitions. Rivera claimed in his autobiography that, while in Mexico in 1904, he engaged in cannibalism, pooling his money with others to "purchase cadavers from the city morgue" and particularly "relish ngwomen's brains in vinaigrette". This claim has been considered factually suspect or an elaborate lie. He wrote in his autobiography: "I believe that when man evolves a civilization higher than the mechanized but still primitive one he has now, the eating of human flesh will be sanctioned. For then man will have thrown off all of his superstitions and irrational taboos."

Career in Mexico

In 1920, urged by

Alberto J. Pani Alberto José Pani Arteaga (12 June 1878 – 25 August 1955) was a prominent politician, Mexican civil engineer, and expert in economic policy, who during the post-revolutionary period held various important positions. Among these were Secretary ...

, the Mexican ambassador to France, Rivera left France and traveled through Italy studying its art, including

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

frescoes. After

José Vasconcelos José Vasconcelos Calderón (28 February 1882 – 30 June 1959), called the "cultural " of the Mexican Revolution, was an important Mexican writer, philosopher, and politician. He is one of the most influential and controversial personalities ...

became Minister of Education, Rivera returned to Mexico in 1921 to become involved in the government sponsored Mexican

program planned by Vasconcelos. The program included such Mexican artists as José Clemente Orozco, David Alfaro Siqueiros, and

Rufino Tamayo Rufino del Carmen Arellanes Tamayo (August 25, 1899 – June 24, 1991) was a Mexican painter of Zapotec heritage, born in Oaxaca de Juárez, Mexico.Sullivan, 170-171Ades, 357 Tamayo was active in the mid-20th century in Mexico and New York, ...

, and the French artist

Jean Charlot Louis Henri Jean Charlot (February 8, 1898 – March 20, 1979) was a French-born American painter and illustrator, active mainly in Mexico and the United States. Life Charlot was born in Paris. His father, Henri, owned an import-export business ...

. In January 1922, he painted – experimentally in encaustic – his first significant mural ''Creation'' in the Bolívar Auditorium of the

National Preparatory School The Escuela Nacional Preparatoria ( en, National Preparatory High School) (ENP), the oldest senior High School system in Mexico, belonging to the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), opened its doors on February 1, 1868. It was founde ...

in Mexico City while guarding himself with a pistol against right-wing students. In the autumn of 1922, Rivera participated in the founding of the Revolutionary Union of Technical Workers, Painters and Sculptors, and later that year he joined the

Mexican Communist Party The Mexican Communist Party ( es, Partido Comunista Mexicano, PCM) was a communist party in Mexico. It was founded in 1917 as the Socialist Workers' Party (, PSO) by Manabendra Nath Roy, a left-wing Indian revolutionary. The PSO changed its name ...

(including its Central Committee). His murals, subsequently painted in fresco only, dealt with Mexican society and reflected the country's 1910 Revolution. Rivera developed his own native style based on large, simplified figures and bold colors with an

Aztec The Aztecs () were a Mesoamerican culture that flourished in central Mexico in the post-classic period from 1300 to 1521. The Aztec people included different Indigenous peoples of Mexico, ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those g ...

influence clearly present in murals at the

Secretariat of Public Education The Mexican Secretariat of Public Education ( in Spanish ''Secretaría de Educación Pública'', ''SEP'') is a federal government authority with cabinet representation and the responsibility for overseeing the development and implementation of ...

begun in September 1922, intended to consist of one hundred and twenty-four frescoes, and finished in 1928. Rivera's art work, in a fashion similar to the

stele A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), whe ...

s of the

Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a popul ...

, tells stories. The mural (''In the Arsenal'') shows on the right-hand side

Tina Modotti Tina Modotti (born Assunta Adelaide Luigia Modotti Mondini, August 16/17, 1896 – January 5, 1942) was an Italian American photographer, model, actor, and revolutionary political activist for the Comintern. She left Italy in 1913 and moved to ...

holding an ammunition belt and facing Julio Antonio Mella, in a light hat, and

Vittorio Vidali Vittorio Vidali (27 September 1900 – 9 November 1983), also known as Vittorio Vidale, Enea Sormenti, Jacobo Hurwitz Zender, Carlos Contreras, and "Comandante Carlos", was an Italian communist. After being expelled from Italy with the ris ...

behind in a black hat. However, the detail shown does not include the right-hand side described nor any of the three individuals mentioned; instead it shows the left-hand side with Frida Kahlo handing out munitions.

Leon Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian ...

lived with Rivera and Kahlo for several months while exiled in Mexico. Some of Rivera's most famous murals are featured at the National School of Agriculture ( Chapingo Autonomous University of Agriculture) at Chapingo near Texcoco (1925–1927), in the Cortés Palace in

(1929–30), and the

National Palace Buildings called National Palace include: * National Palace (Dominican Republic), in Santo Domingo *National Palace (El Salvador), in San Salvador *National Palace (Ethiopia), in Addis Ababa; also known as the Jubilee Palace * National Palace (Guate ...

in Mexico City (1929–30, 1935). Rivera painted murals in the main hall and corridor at the Chapingo Autonomous University of Agriculture (UACh). He also painted a fresco mural titled ('' Fertile Land'' in English) in the university's chapel between 1923 and 1927. ''Fertile Land'' depicts the revolutionary struggles of Mexico's peasant (farmers) and working classes (industry) in part through the depiction of hammer and sickle joined by a star in the soffit of the chapel. In the mural, a "propagandist" points to another hammer and sickle. The mural features a woman with an ear of corn in each hand, which art critic Antonio Rodriguez describes as evocative of the Aztec goddess of

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

in his book . The corpses of revolutionary heroes

Emiliano Zapata Emiliano Zapata Salazar (; August 8, 1879 – April 10, 1919) was a Mexican revolutionary. He was a leading figure in the Mexican Revolution of 1910–1920, the main leader of the people's revolution in the Mexican state of Morelos, and the ins ...

and

Otilio Montano Otilio is a given name. Notable people with the name include: *Otilio Ulate Blanco (1891–1973), President of Costa Rica from 1949 to 1953 *Otilio Galíndez, (1935–2009), Venezuelan musician and composer *Otilio Olguín (born 1931), Mexican form ...

are shown in graves, their bodies fertilizing the maize field above. A sunflower in the center of the scene "glorifies those who died for an ideal and are reborn, transfigured, into the fertile cornfield of the nation", writes Rodrigues. The mural also depicts Rivera's wife Guadalupe Marin as a fertile nude goddess and their daughter Guadalupe Rivera y Marin as a cherub. The mural was slightly damaged in an earthquake, but has since been repaired and touched up, remaining in pristine form.

Later years

Bundesarchiv_Bild_183-36942-0001,_Berlin,_Besuch_Diego_Rivera,_Engel,_Otto_Nagel

In the autumn of 1927, Rivera went to

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, Soviet Union, having accepted a government invitation to take part in the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the

October Revolution The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mome ...

. The following year, while still in the Soviet Union, he met American

Alfred H. Barr, Jr. Alfred Hamilton Barr Jr. (January 28, 1902 – August 15, 1981) was an American art historian and the first director of the Museum of Modern Art in New York City. From that position, he was one of the most influential forces in the development of ...

, who would soon become Rivera's friend and patron. Barr was the founding director of the

in New York City. Although commissioned to paint a mural for the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

Club in Moscow, in 1928 Rivera was ordered by authorities to leave the country because, he suspected, of "resentment on the part of certain Soviet artists." He returned to Mexico. In 1929, following the assassination of former president

Álvaro Obregón Álvaro Obregón Salido (; 17 February 1880 – 17 July 1928) better known as Álvaro Obregón was a Sonoran-born general in the Mexican Revolution. A pragmatic centrist, natural soldier, and able politician, he became the 46th President of Me ...

the previous year, the government suppressed the

. That year Rivera was expelled from the party because of his suspected

Trotskyite Trotskyism is the political ideology and branch of Marxism developed by Ukrainian-Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky and some other members of the Left Opposition and Fourth International. Trotsky self-identified as an orthodox Marxist, a ...

sympathies. In addition, observers noted that his 1928 mural ''In the Arsenal'' includes the figures of communists

, Cuban Julio Antonio Mella, and Italian

. After Mella was murdered in January 1929, allegedly by Stalinist

assassin Assassination is the murder of a prominent or VIP, important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not ha ...

Vidali, Rivera was accused of having had advance knowledge of a planned attack. After divorcing his third wife, Guadalupe (Lupe) Marin, Rivera married the much younger Frida Kahlo in August 1929. They had met when she was a student, and she was 22 years old when they married; Rivera was 42. Also in 1929, American journalist

Ernestine Evans Ernestine Evans (August 9, 1889 – July 3, 1967) was an American journalist, editor, author and literary agent. Life Born in Omaha, Nebraska, she lived in Elkhart, Indiana during her childhood and attended the University of Chicago, receivi ...

's book ''The Frescoes of Diego Rivera'', was published in New York City; it was the first English-language book on the artist. In December, Rivera accepted a commission from the American Ambassador to Mexico to paint murals in the Palace of Cortés in

, where the US had a consulate. In September 1930, Rivera accepted a commission by architect Timothy L. Pflueger for two works related to his design projects in

. Rivera and Kahlo went to the city in November. Rivera painted a mural for the City Club of the

San Francisco Stock Exchange The San Francisco Stock and Bond Exchange was a regional stock exchange based in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1882, in 1928 the exchange purchased and began using the name San Francisco Stock Exchange, while the old San Fran ...

for US$2,500. He also completed a fresco for the California School of Fine Art, a work that was later relocated to what is now the

Diego Rivera Gallery The Diego Rivera Gallery is building, formerly a student-directed art gallery and exhibition space for work by San Francisco Art Institute students. History The gallery provided an opportunity for BFA, MFA and Post-Baccalaureate students to pres ...

at the

San Francisco Art Institute San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) was a private college of contemporary art in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1871, SFAI was one of the oldest art schools in the United States and the oldest west of the Mississippi River. Approximately ...

. During this period, Rivera and Kahlo worked and lived at the studio of

Ralph Stackpole Ralph Ward Stackpole (May 1, 1885 – December 10, 1973) was an American sculptor, painter, muralist, etcher and art educator, San Francisco's leading artist during the 1920s and 1930s. Stackpole was involved in the art and causes of social realis ...

, who had recommended Rivera to Pflueger. Rivera met

Helen Wills Moody Helen Newington Wills (October 6, 1905 – January 1, 1998), also known by her married names Helen Wills Moody and Helen Wills Roark, was an American tennis player. She won 31 Grand Slam tournament titles (singles, doubles, and mixed doubles) d ...

, a notable American tennis player, who modeled for his City Club mural. In November 1931, the

in New York City mounted a retrospective exhibition of Rivera's work; Kahlo attended with him.Gerry Souter (2012)
''Kahlo''
New York: Parkstone International. . p. 18. Between 1932 and 1933, Rivera completed a major commission: twenty-seven fresco panels, entitled ''

Detroit Industry The ''Detroit Industry Murals'' (1932–1933) are a series of frescoes by the Mexican artist Diego Rivera, consisting of twenty-seven panels depicting industry at the Ford Motor Company and in Detroit. Together they surround the interior Rivera ...

,'' on the walls of an inner court at the

Detroit Institute of Arts The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA), located in Midtown Detroit, Michigan, has one of the largest and most significant art collections in the United States. With over 100 galleries, it covers with a major renovation and expansion project comple ...

. Part of the cost was paid by

Edsel Ford Edsel Bryant Ford (November 6, 1893 – May 26, 1943) was an American business executive and philanthropist who was the son of pioneering industrialist Henry Ford and his wife, Clara Jane Bryant Ford. He was the president of Ford Motor Company f ...

, scion of the entrepreneur. During the

McCarthyism McCarthyism is the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, especially when related to anarchism, communism and socialism, and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. The term origin ...

of the 1950s, a large sign was placed in the courtyard defending the artistic merit of the murals while attacking his politics as "detestable." His mural ''

Man at the Crossroads ''Man at the Crossroads'' (1934) was a fresco by Diego Rivera in New York City's Rockefeller Center. It was originally slated to be installed in the lobby of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the main building of the center. ''Man at the Crossroads'' showe ...

'', originally a three-paneled work, begun as a commission for

John D. Rockefeller, Jr. John Davison Rockefeller Jr. (January 29, 1874 – May 11, 1960) was an American financier and philanthropist, and the only son of Standard Oil co-founder John D. Rockefeller. He was involved in the development of the vast office complex in ...

in 1933 for the

Rockefeller Center Rockefeller Center is a large complex consisting of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th Street and 51st Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. The 14 original Art Deco buildings, commissioned by the Rockefeller family, span th ...

in New York City, was later removed. Because it included a portrait of

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

, former leader of the Soviet Union and

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

pro-worker content, Rockefeller's son, the press, and some of the public protested. Anti-Communism ran high in some American circles, although many others in this period of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

had been drawn to the movement as offering hope to labor. When Diego refused to remove Lenin from the painting, he was ordered to leave the US. One of Diego's assistants managed to take a few photographs of the work so Diego was able to later recreate it. American poet Archibald MacLeish wrote six "irony-laden" poems about the mural. ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'' magazine published

E. B. White Elwyn Brooks White (July 11, 1899 – October 1, 1985) was an American writer. He was the author of several highly popular books for children, including ''Stuart Little'' (1945), ''Charlotte's Web'' (1952), and '' The Trumpet of the Swan'' ...

's light poem, "I paint what I see: A ballad of artistic integrity", also in response to the controversy with number of sponsors taking offense to it. DiegoRiveraTombFrontDoloresDF

As a result of the negative publicity, officials in Chicago cancelled their commission for Rivera to paint a mural for the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

. Rivera issued a press statement, saying that he would use the remaining money from his commission at Rockefeller Center to repaint the same mural, over and over, wherever he was asked, until the money ran out. He had been paid in full although the mural was reportedly destroyed. There have been rumors that the mural was covered over rather than removed and destroyed, but this has not been confirmed. In December 1933, Rivera returned to Mexico. He repainted ''Man at the Crossroads'' in 1934 in the

Palacio de Bellas Artes The Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) is a prominent cultural center in Mexico City. It has hosted notable events in music, dance, theatre, opera and literature in Mexico and has held important exhibitions of painting, sculpture and p ...

in Mexico City, calling this version ''

Man, Controller of the Universe ''Man at the Crossroads'' (1934) was a fresco by Diego Rivera in New York City's Rockefeller Center. It was originally slated to be installed in the lobby of 30 Rockefeller Plaza, the main building of the center. ''Man at the Crossroads'' showed ...

''. On June 5, 1940, invited again by Pflueger, Rivera returned for the last time to the United States to paint a ten-panel mural for the

Golden Gate International Exposition The Golden Gate International Exposition (GGIE) (1939 and 1940), held at San Francisco's Treasure Island, was a World's Fair celebrating, among other things, the city's two newly built bridges. The San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge opened in 1936 ...

in San Francisco. His work, '' Pan American Unity'' was completed November 29, 1940. Rivera painted in front of attendees at the Exposition, which had already opened. He received US$1,000 per month and US$1,000 for travel expenses. The mural includes representations of two of Pflueger's architectural works, and portraits of Rivera's wife, Frida Kahlo, woodcarver

Dudley C. Carter Dudley Christopher Carter (May 6, 1891 – April 7, 1992) was an artist and woodcarver from the Pacific Northwest. His works are on display in the U.S. states of Washington (U.S. state), Washington, Oregon and California. There are also works of h ...

, and actress

Paulette Goddard Paulette Goddard (born Marion Levy; June 3, 1910 – April 23, 1990) was an American actress notable for her film career in the Golden Age of Hollywood. Born in Manhattan and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, Goddard initially began her career ...

. She is shown holding Rivera's hand as they plant a white tree together. Rivera's assistants on the mural included Thelma Johnson Streat, a pioneer African-American artist, dancer, and textile designer. The mural and its archives are now held by

City College of San Francisco City College of San Francisco (CCSF or City College) is a public community college in San Francisco, California. Founded as a junior college in 1935, the college plays an important local role, annually enrolling as many as one in nine San Franci ...

Membership in AMORC

In 1926, Rivera became a member of AMORC, the

Ancient Mystical Order Rosae Crucis The Ancient and Mystical Order Rosæ Crucis (AMORC), also known as the ''Rosicrucian Order'', is the largest Rosicrucian organization in the world. It has various lodges, chapters and other affiliated bodies throughout the globe, operating in ...

, an occult organization founded by American occultist

Harvey Spencer Lewis Harvey Spencer Lewis F.R.C., S:::I:::I:::, 33° 66° 95°, PhD (November 25, 1883 – August 2, 1939), a noted Rosicrucian author, occultist, and mystic, was the founder in the US and the first Imperator of the Ancient and Mystical Order Rosa ...

. In 1926, Rivera was among the founders of AMORC's Mexico City lodge, called Quetzalcoatl after an ancient indigenous god. He painted an image of Quetzalcoatl for the local temple. In 1954 Rivera tried to be readmitted into the Mexican Communist Party. He had been expelled in part because of his support of

Trotsky Lev Davidovich Bronstein. ( – 21 August 1940), better known as Leon Trotsky; uk, link= no, Лев Давидович Троцький; also transliterated ''Lyev'', ''Trotski'', ''Trotskij'', ''Trockij'' and ''Trotzky''. (), was a Russian M ...

, who had been exiled and assassinated years before in Mexico. Rivera was required to justify his AMORC activities. At the time, the Mexican Communist Party excluded persons involved in

Freemasonry Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

, and regarded AMORC as suspiciously similar to Freemasonry. Rivera told his questioners that, by joining AMORC, he wanted to infiltrate a typical “Yankee” organization on behalf of Communism. However, he also claimed that AMORC was “essentially materialist, insofar as it only admits different states of energy and matter, and is based on ancient Egyptian occult knowledge from

Amenhotep IV Akhenaten (pronounced ), also spelled Echnaton, Akhenaton, ( egy, ꜣḫ-n-jtn ''ʾŪḫə-nə-yātəy'', , meaning "Effective for the Aten"), was an ancient Egyptian pharaoh reigning or 1351–1334 BC, the tenth ruler of the Eighteenth Dy ...

and

Nefertiti Neferneferuaten Nefertiti () ( – c. 1330 BC) was a queen of the 18th Dynasty of Ancient Egypt, the great royal wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten. Nefertiti and her husband were known for a radical change in national religious policy, in whic ...

.”Diego Rivera, ''Arte y política'', México: Grijalbo, 1979, p. 354. .

Representation in other media

Diego Rivera has been portrayed in several films. He was played by

Rubén Blades Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna (born July 16, 1948), known professionally as Rubén Blades (, but in Panama and within the family), is a Panamanian musician, singer, composer, actor, activist, and politician, performing musically most often in th ...

in ''

Cradle Will Rock ''Cradle Will Rock'' is a 1999 American historical drama film written, produced and directed by Tim Robbins. The story fictionalizes the true events that surrounded the development of the 1937 musical ''The Cradle Will Rock'' by Marc Blitzstein; ...

'' (1999), by

Alfred Molina Alfred Molina (born Alfredo Molina; 24 May 1953) is a British-American actor known for his work on the stage and screen. He first rose to prominence in the West End, earning a nomination for the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Newcomer in a Pla ...

in ''

Frida ''Frida'' is a 2002 American biographical drama film directed by Julie Taymor which depicts the professional and private life of the surrealist Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Starring Salma Hayek in an Academy Award–nominated portrayal as K ...

'' (2002), and (in a brief appearance) by José Montini in ''

Eisenstein in Guanajuato ''Eisenstein in Guanajuato'' is a 2015 Biographical film, biographical Romance film, romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Peter Greenaway. Starring Elmer Bäck as Soviet film director Sergei Eisenstein, alongside Stelio Savante, Lis ...

'' (2015).

Barbara Kingsolver Barbara Kingsolver (born April 8, 1955) is an American novelist, essayist and poet. She was raised in rural Kentucky and lived briefly in the Congo in her early childhood. Kingsolver earned degrees in biology at DePauw University and the Univers ...

's novel, ''

The Lacuna ''The Lacuna'' is a 2009 novel by Barbara Kingsolver. It is Kingsolver's sixth novel, and won the 2010 Orange Prize for Fiction and the Library of Virginia Literary Award. It was shortlisted for the 2011 International Dublin Literary Award. Plo ...

'' features Rivera, Kahlo, and Leon Trotsky as major characters.

Gallery

Paintings

File:Diego Rivera - Self-portrait with Broad-Brimmed Hat - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Self-portrait with Broad-Brimmed Hat'', 1907, 84.5 × 61.5 cm.

Museo Dolores Olmedo The Museo Dolores Olmedo (or the Dolores Olmedo Museum) is an art museum in Xochimilco, Mexico City, based on the collection of the Mexican businesswoman Dolores Olmedo. The museum will be relocated to Chapultepec in 2024. History In 1962, Do ...

File:Diego Rivera - Avila Morning (The Ambles Valley) - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Avila Morning (The Ambles Valley)'', 1908, 97 × 123 cm. Museo Nacional de Arte File:Diego Rivera - Street in Ávila (Ávila Landscape) - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Street in Ávila (Ávila Landscape)'', 1908, 129 × 141 cm. Museo Nacional de Arte File:Diego Rivera - El Picador - Google Art Project.jpg, ''El Picador'', 1909, 177 × 113 cm.

File:Diego Rivera - The House on the Bridge - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The House on the Bridge'', 1909, 147 × 121 cm. Museo Nacional de Arte File:Diego Rivera - After the Storm (The Grounded Ship) - Google Art Project.jpg, ''After the Storm (The Grounded Ship)'', 1910, 120.7 × 146.7 cm. Museo Nacional de Arte File:Diego Rivera - Landscape - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Landscape'', 1911.

Frida Kahlo Museum The Frida Kahlo Museum (Spanish: ''Museo Frida Kahlo''), also known as the Blue House (''La Casa Azul'' for the structure's cobalt-blue walls, is a historic house museum and art museum dedicated to the life and work of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo ...

. File:Diego Rivera - Portrait of Adolfo Best Maugard - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Portrait of Adolfo Best Maugard'', 1913, 227.5 × 161.5 cm. Museo Nacional de Arte File:Diego Rivera, 1912-13, Adoration of the Virgin and Child, oil and encaustic on canvas, 150 x 120 cm, private collection.jpg, ''Adoration of the Virgin and Child'', 1912–13, oil and encaustic on canvas, 150 × 120 cm, private collection File:Diego Rivera - The Sun Breaking through the Mist - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Sun Breaking through the Mist'', 1913, 83.5 × 59 cm.

File:Diego Rivera - The Woman at the Well - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Woman at the Well'', 1913, 145 × 125 cm. Museo Nacional de Arte File:Diego Rivera - The Alarm Clock - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Alarm Clock'', 1914.

File:Diego Rivera, 1914, Two Women (Dos Mujeres, portrait of Angelina Beloff and Maria Dolores Bastian ), oil on canvas, 197.5 x 161.3 cm, The Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, Arkansas.jpg, ''Two Women (Dos Mujeres, Portrait of Angelina Beloff and Maria Dolores Bastian)'', 1914, 197.5 × 161.3 cm. Arkansas Arts Center File:Diego Rivera, 1914, Portrait de Messieurs Kawashima et Foujita, oil and collage on canvas, 78.5 x 74 cm, private collection.jpg, ''Portrait de Messieurs Kawashima et Foujita'', 1914, oil and collage on canvas, 78.5 × 74 cm. Private collection File:Diego Rivera - Young Man with a Fountain Pen - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Young Man with a Fountain Pen'', 1914, 79.5 × 63.5 cm.

File:Diego Rivera - El Rastro - Google Art Project.jpg, ''El Rastro'', 1915, 27.5 × 38.5 cm.

File:RamónGómezdelaSerna.JPG, '' Portrait of Ramón Gómez de la Serna'', 1915, 109.6 × 90.2 cm. Latin American Art Museum of Buenos Aires File:Diego Rivera - Zapata-style Landscape - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Zapata-style Landscape'', 1915, 145 × 125 cm. Museo Nacional de Arte File:Diego Rivera, c.1915, Portrait of Marevna, oil on canvas, 145.7 x 112.7 cm, Art Institute of Chicago.jpg, ''Portrait of Marevna'', c.1915, 145.7 × 112.7 cm.

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

File:Diego Rivera - Seated Woman (Women with the Body of a Guitar) - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Seated Woman (Women with the Body of a Guitar)'', 1915–16.

File:Diego Rivera - Urban Landscape - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Urban Landscape'', 1916.

File:Diego Rivera, 1916, Still Life with Tulips (Naturaleza Muerta con Tulipanes), oil on canvas, 67.8 x 53.7cm.jpg, ''Still Life with Tulips'' (''Naturaleza Muerta con Tulipanes''), 1916, oil on canvas, 67.8 × 53.7 cm File:Diego Rivera - Knife and Fruit in Front of the Window - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Knife and Fruit in Front of the Window'', 1917, 91.8 × 92.4 cm.

File:Diego Rivera - Still Life with Utensils - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Still Life with Utensils'', 1917, 71 × 54 cm.

File:Diego Rivera - The Mathematician - Google Art Project.jpg, ''The Mathematician'', 1919, 115.5 × 80.5 cm.

File:Diego Rivera, c.1916, Maternidad, Angelina y et niño Diego, oil on canvas, 134.5 x 88.5 cm, Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil.jpg, ''Maternidad, Angelina y el niño Diego'' (''Motherhood, Angelina and the Child Diego''), c. August 1916, oil on canvas, 134.5 × 88.5 cm, Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil. This work forms part of Rivera's Crystal Cubist period

Murals

File:Murales Rivera - Ausbeutung durch die Spanier 1 perspective.jpg, Mural of exploitation of Mexico by Spanish conquistadores, Palacio Nacional, Mexico City (1929–1945) File:Murales Rivera - Markt in Tlatelolco 3.jpg, Mural of the Aztec city of

Tenochtitlan , ; es, Tenochtitlan also known as Mexico-Tenochtitlan, ; es, México-Tenochtitlan was a large Mexican in what is now the historic center of Mexico City. The exact date of the founding of the city is unclear. The date 13 March 1325 was ...

, Palacio Nacional, Mexico City File:La Gran Tenochtitlan.JPG, Mural of the Aztec market of Tlatelolco, Palacio Nacional, Mexico City File:Murales Rivera - Gold.jpg, Mural showing Aztec production of gold, Palacio Nacional, Mexico City File:Celebrations and Ceremonies Totonaca Culture full.JPG, Mural showing Totonaca celebrations and ceremonies, Palacio Nacional, Mexico City File:Mexico - Bellas Artes - Fresque Riviera « Man at the Crossroads ».JPG, Detail of ''Man, Controller of the Universe'', fresco at

showing

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

File:Detalle de Lenin.jpg, Detail of ''Man, Controller of the Universe'', fresco at

showing

File:The Kid - Diego Rivera.jpg, Mural (detail) '' Sueño de una Tarde Dominical en la Alameda Central'' in Mexico City, featuring Rivera and Frida Kahlo standing by

La Calavera Catrina ''La Calavera Catrina ''("Dapper Skull") or ''Catrina'' ''La Calavera Garbancera'' ("Elegant Skull") is a 1910–1913 zinc etching by the Mexican printmaker, cartoon illustrator and lithographer José Guadalupe Posada. Originally a satirizat ...

(width: 15.6 m) File:Mural Diego Rivera.jpg, Mural at Palacio de Gobierno, Mexico City File:RiveraMuralNationalPalace.jpg, Diego Rivera's mural '' The History of Mexico'' at the

in Mexico City File:Murales Rivera - Treppenhaus 6.jpg, Detail of '' The History of Mexico'' showing betrayed revolution at Palacio Nacional,

File:Palacio de Bellas Artes - Mural El Hombre in cruce de caminos Rivera 3.jpg, Recreation of ''

'' (renamed ''

''), originally created in 1934 (detail) File:Palacio_Nacional_Murals_view.JPG, View of the Murals by Diego Rivera in the Palacio Nacional Image:Rivera detroit industry north.jpg, ''

'', North Wall, 1932–33.

Image:Rivera detroit industry south.jpg, ''

, South Wall'', 1932–33.

Sculptures

File:Cárcamo de Dolores 09.jpg, Tlaloc Fountain in Cárcamo de Dolores, Mexico City (1951) File:Diego Rivera's Mural in Acapulco, Mexico.jpg, 3D mural of Quetzalcóatl in the ''Exekatlkalli'' (Casa de los Vientos) in

Acapulco Acapulco de Juárez (), commonly called Acapulco ( , also , nah, Acapolco), is a city and major seaport in the state of Guerrero on the Pacific Coast of Mexico, south of Mexico City. Acapulco is located on a deep, semicircular bay and has bee ...

, Guerrero (1957)

References

External links

''Creation''
(1931). From the Collections of the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

''Trials of the Hero-Twins''
(1931) From the Collections at the

''Human Sacrifice Before Tohil''
(1931) From the Collections at the

Cubist paintings by Rivera
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rivera, Diego 1886 births 1957 deaths Académie Julian alumni Artists from Mexico City Cubist artists Escuela Nacional de Pintura, Escultura y Grabado "La Esmeralda" faculty Frida Kahlo Latin American artists of indigenous descent Members of El Colegio Nacional (Mexico) Mexican atheists Mexican communists Mexican muralists Mexican people of indigenous peoples descent Mexican people of Spanish-Jewish descent Mexican people of Spanish descent Mexican people of Portuguese descent Mexican Trotskyists Artists from Guanajuato People from Cuernavaca People from Guanajuato City People from Morelos Political artists Social realist artists Painters of the Return to Order Federal Art Project artists 19th-century Mexican people 20th-century Mexican painters 20th-century male artists Mexican male painters Academy of San Carlos alumni